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Three hurt as fuel barges explode, catch fire in Alabama

Last Modified: Thursday, April 25, 2013 9:36 AM

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Firefighters on Thursday extinguished a huge blaze that erupted hours earlier when two fuel barges exploded
in Mobile, Ala., leaving three people with critical burns and forcing the evacuation of crew from a nearby cruise ship.

The cause of the fire, which started Wednesday night, remained under investigation, but it was believed to be accidental,
Mobile Fire-Rescue spokesman Steve Huffman said in a statement.

The blaze was extinguished early Thursday, U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Carlos Vega.

Firefighters from Mobile and Coast Guard officials responded after 8:30 p.m. CDT Wednesday to a pair of explosions involving
the gas barges in the Mobile River east of downtown. Additional explosions followed over the next few hours.

Authorities say three people were brought to University of South Alabama Medical Center for burn-related injuries. The three
were in critical condition early Thursday, according to hospital nursing administrator Danny Whatley.

Across the river, the Carnival Triumph, the
cruise ship that became disabled in the Gulf of Mexico last February
before it
was towed to Mobile's port, was evacuated, said Alan Waugh, who
lives at the Fort Conde Inn in downtown Mobile, across the
river from the scene of the explosions. Waugh saw the blasts and
said throngs of Carnival employees and others were clustered
on streets leading toward the river as authorities evacuated the
shipyard.

"It literally sounded like bombs going off around. The sky just lit up in orange and red," he said, "We could smell something
in the air, we didn't know if it was gas or smoke." Waugh said he could feel the heat from the explosion and when he came
back inside, his partner noticed he had what appeared to be black soot on his face.

Carnival didn't immediately respond to an emailed request for comment late Wednesday.

Video from WALA-TV (http://bit.ly/15NEYJl) showed flames engulfing a large section of the barge, and a video that a bystander
sent to AL.com (http://bit.ly/13vWz4G) showed the fiery explosions and billowing smoke over the river.

The initial blast took place in a ship channel near the George C. Wallace Tunnel — which carries traffic from Interstate 10
under the Mobile River, Vega said. The river runs south past Mobile and into Mobile Bay, which in turn flows into the Gulf
of Mexico.

The tunnels were still open and operating, Mobile fire officials said in a statement.

As daybreak approached, the Mobile Fire-Rescue Department's fireboat Phoenix was moving toward the barges, checking to make
sure their mooring lines were secured, the fire department said in a statement.

The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear, Huffman and Vega said.

"Once (the fire) is out and safe, a full investigation will take place," Huffman wrote.

Mobile Fire Chief Steve Dean told AL.com he was confident the fire wouldn't spread to nearby industrial properties, including
the shipyard where the Carnival cruise ship is docked.

Huffman said the ship is directly across the river from the incident — about two football fields in length.

The barges are owned by Houston-based Kirby
Inland Marine, company spokesman Greg Beuerman said. He said the barges
were empty
and being cleaned at the Oil Recovery Co. facility when the
incident began. He said the barges had been carrying a liquid
called natural gasoline — which he said is neither liquefied
natural gas or natural gas. He said the company has dispatched
a team to work with investigators to determine what caused the
fire.

The explosion comes two months after the
900-foot-long Carnival Triumph was towed to Mobile after becoming
disabled on the
Gulf during a cruise by an engine room fire, leaving thousands of
passengers to endure cold food, unsanitary conditions and
power outages for several days. The ship is still undergoing
repairs there, with many workers living on board.

Earlier this month, the cruise ship was
dislodged from its mooring by a windstorm that also caused, in a
separate incident,
two shipyard workers to fall into Mobile Bay. While one worker was
rescued, the other's body was pulled from the water more
than a week later.